Question 50·Medium·Command of Evidence
Winter Garden is a 1930 short story by Clara E. Martín. In the story, the narrator presents the character Mrs. Ellison as someone who values social harmony above personal truth: ____
Which quotation from Winter Garden most effectively illustrates the claim?
For questions asking which quotation best supports a claim, first restate the claim in your own words and underline its key ideas (here, “values social harmony” and “above personal truth”). Then quickly scan each choice for those exact ideas or clear synonyms: words related to truth or lies plus words related to disagreement, conflict, or keeping the peace. Eliminate any option that doesn’t show both parts of the claim in action, and pick the one where the character’s behavior or attitude most directly matches the claim’s contrast.
Hints
Focus on the claim’s key contrast
Underline the two main ideas in the claim: social harmony and personal truth. Think about a situation where someone might have to choose between honesty and keeping the peace.
Look for both honesty and conflict in the quote
Scan the answer choices for any mention of lying, truth, frankness, disagreement, or conflict, and see how Mrs. Ellison responds to that situation.
Check what Mrs. Ellison actually does
Ask: In which option is Mrs. Ellison clearly making a choice that affects whether people stay calm and agreeable, even if that affects honesty?
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate the claim in simpler words
The prompt says Mrs. Ellison "values social harmony above personal truth." In simpler terms, this means:
- She cares more about everyone getting along than about being honest.
- If telling the truth might cause conflict, she would rather keep things peaceful, even if that means not being truthful.
So we need a quotation where Mrs. Ellison chooses peace or agreement over truth.
Identify the key ideas to match
Look for a sentence that clearly shows:
- An issue with truth (for example, lying, hiding the truth, or not being frank), and
- A desire to avoid conflict, disagreement, or tension in a social setting.
The best evidence will show both ideas at the same time: truth vs. harmony, with harmony winning.
Check which options show truth vs. conflict
Now compare each option to those key ideas:
- One option talks about Mrs. Ellison remembering how honest she used to be. That’s about memory, not a present choice between truth and harmony.
- One option describes her distraction by storm clouds during a garden party. This shows her attention wandering, not anything about truth or social peace.
- One option shows her happily talking about azaleas when praised. That’s normal social behavior, but there’s no sign of conflict or dishonesty.
Only one remaining option clearly shows her responding to a situation involving a lie and a possible disagreement in a social setting.
Choose the quotation that matches the claim
The quotation that says, “Mrs. Ellison would rather smooth over a lie than let even a whisper of disagreement disturb her afternoon tea,” directly shows her preferring to hide or ease over a lie (not value truth) so that no disagreement interrupts social harmony. This perfectly illustrates that she values social harmony above personal truth, so D is the correct answer.